This is the image sequence from Tavis Smiley's latest effort.. a panel discussion entitled, "Remaking America" featuring, of course, Cornel West.. and MIchael Moore and.. a bunch of other people.. Of, course I appreciate the value of what Tavis says he's doing.. but, being into imagery and all, this image sequence from his website tripped me out.. Check it out:

Ok.. decent looking white people poor!! OMG, what is this country coming to!!

not sure exactly what this guys ethnicity is, but he certainly was a hardworking and decent minority before whatever accident put him in that wheelchair.. Tavis understands what he's going through.. I can tell by the finger on the chin..

And here we are with this decent respectable looking Asian mom and daughter.. Outrageous that these good decent people are facing poverty... "dam you america.. how could you let these good people down", Tavis says on his knees in the rain.. like Usher did in that video..

And finally... the money shot.. black people.. no bright lights.. no smiles.. no decency. . no closeness.. no intelligence.. hence.. no glasses.. just an obese or pregnant barefooted young lady with her belly hanging out sitting on a crate.. with her jordans on one side and the ultra-concerned Tavis distantly and noticeably looking out into the cruel cruel world, (as opposed to looking this young lady in the eye) while simultaneously recognizing and realizing the photo-op.

I'm sure this is probably the most decent looking shot of a Black person he could find in his entire roll of film.. And I bet he told her that she was about to have her image on his website juxtaposed with other clean, innocent, hardworking american-types.. for the whole world to see.. or not.

But it's all good.. Tavis is black too.. so it's cool when black folks use images that degrade black folk.. I'm sure Tavis probably hooked her up with a book.. or a jacket or something too.. You know how we do us.

- Peace yall.. and.. "Happy Holidays.. tis the season of giving.. which is ironic as hell amongst a whole society of takers.." - Skude R. Jaymes.. pessimistic as a mug today..

This is hilarious, to the level of Jerry Springer,
Tavis is the most hated man in America by Black folks
when he made covenant for Black America no one here posted his book or his website pic or anything, and ooooooohhhh brother when he dared to question and criticize Barrack Obama, folks were chipping in to buy tires to put a necklace around his neck and set it afire

So now he is doing a series of research and expose about poverty
in this nation
and what embarasses white supremecy the most ,
how they dawg poor white folks
something the white spuremacist oligarchy has tried very hard to keep
out of the media , web , print, television and radio

the entire ish is reduced to a grade school show and tell of

"hey folks this uncle tom sho do love him some white folks"

gimme a break!

I wonder what Marron Marrable's sick book about Malcolm,
would have looked like with illustrations?

Folks keep pointing to something but instead of looking at what they are pointing to a whole three volume book is written about the size shape, texture, skin condition, nail condition cuticle condtion and knuckle condition of the finger.

This is the image sequence from Tavis Smiley's latest effort.. a panel discussion entitled, "Remaking America" featuring, of course, Cornel West.. and MIchael Moore and.. a bunch of other people.. Of, course I appreciate the value of what Tavis says he's doing.. but, being into imagery and all, this image sequence from his website tripped me out.. Check it out:

Ok.. decent looking white people poor!! OMG, what is this country coming to!!

not sure exactly what this guys ethnicity is, but he certainly was a hardworking and decent minority before whatever accident put him in that wheelchair.. Tavis understands what he's going through.. I can tell by the finger on the chin..

And here we are with this decent respectable looking Asian mom and daughter.. Outrageous that these good decent people are facing poverty... "dam you america.. how could you let these good people down", Tavis says on his knees in the rain.. like Usher did in that video..

And finally... the money shot.. black people.. no bright lights.. no smiles.. no decency. . no closeness.. no intelligence.. hence.. no glasses.. just an obese or pregnant barefooted young lady with her belly hanging out sitting on a crate.. with her jordans on one side and the ultra-concerned Tavis distantly and noticeably looking out into the cruel cruel world, (as opposed to looking this young lady in the eye) while simultaneously recognizing and realizing the photo-op.

I'm sure this is probably the most decent looking shot of a Black person he could find in his entire roll of film.. And I bet he told her that she was about to have her image on his website juxtaposed with other clean, innocent, hardworking american-types.. for the whole world to see.. or not.

But it's all good.. Tavis is black too.. so it's cool when black folks use images that degrade black folk.. I'm sure Tavis probably hooked her up with a book.. or a jacket or something too.. You know how we do us.

- Peace yall.. and.. "Happy Holidays.. tis the season of giving.. which is ironic as hell amongst a whole society of takers.." - Skude R. Jaymes.. pessimistic as a mug today..

As far as what happened with it.. it sold.. some folks got it.. got some ideas.. and also, it established Tavis as non-threatening to the status quo.. and that "non-threatening" moniker is a prerequisite for access to the national stage.. his focus on black corrective action, rather than the usual systemic white racism put him in a position to garner support from all sides. Tavis is careful not to threaten any of the established power bases.. The day that Tavis goes radical will be the day he comes into his real influence. That middle ground that has contained him ever since he was ousted from BET in preparation for their whitewashing with Viacom is a particularly impotent space.. but is also a safe space. From there you can offend no one.. and make no enemies... so that means that friendship and support is always an option.. but it also means, he can't draw any hard lines in the sand. To have any sort of real and lasting impact, you have to be willing to run the risk of polarizing people. And I don't think Tavis is willing to run that risk.. Criticizing Obama is not nearly as ballsy as it seems.. Obama's so-called Blackness allowed Tavis to snipe without actually leaving his neutral middle ground.. translation: no white folks were offended by his criticism of Obama... and, for the record, neither was I. I think Tavis is on the right track by focusing on a what appears to be a single issue. Problem is, Poverty, is not a single issue.. and it's inextricably bound to racism and oppression.. two issues that Tavis stays away from--in any real substantive way--like the black plague.. or, more suitably, "the white plague"..

You can get the book at barnesandnoble.com for as little as 99 cents.. and I'm sure there are copies in the local libraries across the country..

This is hilarious, to the level of Jerry Springer,
Tavis is the most hated man in America by Black folks
when he made covenant for Black America no one here posted his book or his website pic or anything, and ooooooohhhh brother when he dared to question and criticize Barrack Obama, folks were chipping in to buy tires to put a necklace around his neck and set it afire

So now he is doing a series of research and expose about poverty
in this nation
and what embarasses white supremecy the most ,
how they dawg poor white folks
something the white spuremacist oligarchy has tried very hard to keep
out of the media , web , print, television and radio

the entire ish is reduced to a grade school show and tell of

"hey folks this uncle tom sho do love him some white folks"

gimme a break!

I wonder what Marron Marrable's sick book about Malcolm,
would have looked like with illustrations?

Folks keep pointing to something but instead of looking at what they are pointing to a whole three volume book is written about the size shape, texture, skin condition, nail condition cuticle condtion and knuckle condition of the finger.

Everything is context

Click to expand...

I know it's your job to intercept and misdirect every potentially fruitful conversation at it's inception.. I know that.. and you know I know that... but maybe some of the new users don't.. so, even though I know that it's wrong to feed the ankhur, I'll throw you a bone or two..

First thing.. I'm not "Black Folks".. I'm Skuderjaymes.. so, you're gross generalizations about black folks don't apply to me or anything I've said here.. If you have a question about what I mean, you should probably ask a question.. rather than do your racial math.. you know what they say, "garbage in, garbage out".. and that little saying might also shed some light on the bulk of what you post on this site.. nothing but pure interference and confusion..

This thread is about the image sequence on Tavis's site.. it is not about tearing down Tavis.. It's about recognizing how our images are used.. even by us. I have several other threads that focus on this exact same concept.. and, it's worth noting that I also sent a email to Tavis's Company.. The
Smiley Group.. with the exact same message.. and I asked them to change that picture.. to put our image on the same level with those other images. Believe it or not, team ankhur, there are those of us here that realize that Tavis doesn't create websites..

ok.. so.. there are your bones.. ply your trade.. throw your chaft.. create your confusion.. let's see if anybody bites and mistakes your tactics for anything other than what they are.

I know it's your job to intercept and misdirect every potentially fruitful conversation at it's inception.. I know that.. and you know I know that... but maybe some of the new users don't.. so, even though I know that it's wrong to feed the ankhur, I'll throw you a bone or two..

First thing.. I'm not "Black Folks".. I'm Skuderjaymes.. so, you're gross generalizations about black folks don't apply to me or anything I've said here.. If you have a question about what I mean, you should probably ask a question.. rather than do your racial math.. you know what they say, "garbage in, garbage out".. and that little saying might also shed some light on the bulk of what you post on this site.. nothing but pure interference and confusion..

This thread is about the image sequence on Tavis's site.. it is not about tearing down Tavis.. It's about recognizing how our images are used.. even by us. I have several other threads that focus on this exact same concept.. and, it's worth noting that I also sent a email to Tavis's Company.. The
Smiley Group.. with the exact same message.. and I asked them to change that picture.. to put our image on the same level with those other images. Believe it or not, team ankhur, there are those of us here that realize that Tavis doesn't create websites..

ok.. so.. there are your bones.. ply your trade.. throw your chaft.. create your confusion.. let's see if anybody bites and mistakes your tactics for anything other than what they are.

No.. Everything is not context.. Context is everything.. and that is a very fitting symbolic reversal symbolizing the juxtaposition of what you do here at Destee.com and what I do..

.

Click to expand...

som mo personal ish? Is there a fad to not have the maturity to debate when challenged?

As far as what happened with it.. it sold.. some folks got it.. got some ideas..

Click to expand...

Which is far from the expected panacea for Blacks it was projected to be, up against this system of oppression. (it sold)Money was made that didn't trickle back into the project as promised. (some folks got it...)Many bought the book, after being number 1 on the New York best seller's list for an extended period. (...got some ideas)These are my concerns; what happened to the implementation of those ideas the Covenant laid out for us to follow? Was it all a rip off?

As far as what happened with it.. it sold.. some folks got it.. got some ideas.. and also, it established Tavis as non-threatening to the status quo.. and that "non-threatening" moniker is a prerequisite for access to the national stage.. his focus on black corrective action, rather than the usual systemic white racism put him in a position to garner support from all sides. Tavis is careful not to threaten any of the established power bases.. The day that Tavis goes radical will be the day he comes into his real influence. That middle ground that has contained him ever since he was ousted from BET in preparation for their whitewashing with Viacom is a particularly impotent space.. but is also a safe space. From there you can offend no one.. and make no enemies... so that means that friendship and support is always an option.. but it also means, he can't draw any hard lines in the sand. To have any sort of real and lasting impact, you have to be willing to run the risk of polarizing people. And I don't think Tavis is willing to run that risk.. Criticizing Obama is not nearly as ballsy as it seems.. Obama's so-called Blackness allowed Tavis to snipe without actually leaving his neutral middle ground.. translation: no white folks were offended by his criticism of Obama... and, for the record, neither was I. I think Tavis is on the right track by focusing on a what appears to be a single issue. Problem is, Poverty, is not a single issue.. and it's inextricably bound to racism and oppression.. two issues that Tavis stays away from--in any real substantive way--like the black plague.. or, more suitably, "the white plague"..

You can get the book at barnesandnoble.com for as little as 99 cents.. and I'm sure there are copies in the local libraries across the country..

som mo personal ish? Is there a fad to not have the maturity to debate when challenged?

Click to expand...

ok.. the maturity angle.. thrown in with a bit of colloquial street lingo.. good good.. makes you come off as authentic.. yeah yeah.. page 34 of the How To Disrupt Black Online Conversations For Dummies...

.. I was sure though that you would come back with the patented Calling Of Ones Manhood Into Question gambit that you usually reach for whenever a direct light is shined on your true behavior here at Destee.com.. anyway.. so, it's good to see you mixing it up.. keeping us on our toes.

Which is far from the expected panacea for Blacks it was projected to be, up against this system of oppression. (it sold)Money was made that didn't trickle back into the project as promised. (some folks got it...)Many bought the book, after being number 1 on the New York best seller's list for an extended period. (...got some ideas)These are my concerns; what happened to the implementation of those ideas the Covenant laid out for us to follow? Was it all a rip off?

Peace In,

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I told someone the other day that Mulana Ron Karenga, would be at Boys and Girls high school Monday night December 26, to do a lecture on Kwanzaa, and the brother replied **** Ron Karenga, and I asked, why all the negativity he replied;

"The man invented the Nguzo Saba but never implemented it, or made people follow it."